Fortunately by 5pm I had a spare hour so headed to Southwater lake for my first open water swim of the season. The Tri Club I belong to have recently begun to offer open water coaching so Coach NF (Nick Finch) was there with some useful advice. One thing I learnt, which was completely new to me, was that drafting should be ideally done by the side of the swimmer in front, just behind the arm pull through rather than directly on the toes. After a couple of warm up lengths (each approx. 250m) we tried some drafting exercises in couples. Then we did a group swim and completed a lap of the lake. Probably 1,600m in total, which was enough for my first venture out.
Most triathletes swim faster in a wetsuit because it provides some buoyancy, however for some reason I don't feel I get much benefit. I mentioned this to Coach NF and he reckoned that my swim stroke is a little too smooth and not aggressive enough for open water swimming. I need to practice lifting my arms faster and higher/wider - slightly more thrashing of the water rather than my relaxed gliding effort.
Since the Sunday swim I have put in some decent training sessions and a few hours in the bank:
Mon - 11km easy Z1-2 run along Brighton seafront
Tue - 60km commute on the bike with a decent tempo set covering 20km in approx. 37mins on a rolling route
Wed - push/run set around Preston Park followed by the Club swim session in the evening, which focussed on pace work and included a 1,500m set at the end.
Thu (today) - another 60km bike commute planned. This morning I had a focus on hill work. Probably an easy return.
As for the rest of the week - may be another run (strides set or short time trial) on Friday will be in order. Saturday morning is back at the pool with the Club. Sunday possibly a brick set then open water swimming in the afternoon. By tonight I would have completed 7.5 hours so I expect to have 10-12 in the bank for the week.
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